AFTER A HEARTBREAKING TWO YEARS...FULL OF LOSS...AN ANDERSON MAN WAS LIFTED UP... AFTER FEELING THE KINDNESS OF A STRANGER. WYFF NEWS 4'S MANDY GAITHER NOW...FROM ANDERSON. IT'S JUST A BOX DROPPED OFF ON THE PORCH OF AN ANDERSON HOME. BUT WHAT'S INSIDE HAS FOREVER UNITED THE MAN WHO LIVES HERE...TO A STRANGER 149 MILES AWAY... it's like Christmas all over FOR BEN PHILLIPS...THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT WAS HARD TO FIND THIS YEAR. FIRST HE LOST HIS BELOVED MOTHER...AFTER A BATTLE WITH ALZHEIMER'S. and I lost her mother this year. Her mother was 103. It was a tough Christmas. PHILLIPS WAS STILL SETTLING HIS GRANDMOTHER'S ESTATE... WHEN THERE...AT ONE OF THE LOWEST POINTS OF HIS LIFE... HE WAS LIFTED UP...BY THIS EMAIL SENT BY JAN FROM MATTHEWS, NORTH CAROLINA...A WOMAN HE'D NEVER MET. "it says a couple of years ago she was at a Goodwill store in Charlotte, NC and found a book "The Davenports and Cherry Pie." what also caught my attention was the handwritten in ink Judy harden 1951 on the inside front cover" JAN...THE STRANGER...ALSO WROTE THAT HER "MOTHER DIED IN JUNE..."BECAUSE OF THAT...AND CHRISTMAS COMBINED"...SHE "DECIDED TO LOOK FOR JUDY HARDEN"... FIRST A GOOGLE SEARCH...WHICH SHOWED HARDEN LIVED IN ANDERSON...BUT DIED NEARLY TWO YEARS AGO. AFTER CONTACTING THE CITY'S PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE...SHE GOT BEN PHILLIP'S EMAIL ADDRESS... if this is all incorrect and you do not know Judy Harden, she's very sorry for the mistake BUT THERE WAS NO MISTAKE. HARDEN WAS JUDY'S MAIDEN NAME...PHILLIPS WAS HER MARRIED ONE. ON FRIDAY...HER SON OPENED THIS BOX THAT CAME IN THE MAIL... wow it's in remarkable condition. Look at that. That's just amazing. and it's mom's handwriting IT'S HIS MOTHER'S CHILDHOOD BOOK... WHEN SHE WAS 11 YEARS OLD...JUDY WROTE IN THE FRONT COVER...HER NAME...ADDRESS...EVEN HER PHONE NUMBER. this is just like holding mom. Little emotional, but that's okay. BECAUSE OF THE KINDNESS OF A STRANGER... BEN PHILLIPS HAS FOUND HIS SMILE AGAIN. the book's home. Thank you Jan. AND MADE A NEW FRIEND ALONG THE WAY... MANDY GAITHER WYFF NEWS 4 IN ANDERSON. PHILLIPS SAYS HE OFFERED MONEY TO PAY FOR THE BOOK... BUT SAYS THE STRANGER WOULDN'T TAKE IT...SHE JUST WANTED TO GIVE THE BOOK TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER.